A/N: Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed!
Chapter IV: Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,Teach us something please…
Nico di Angelo sat next to Lou Ellen on the couch in the middle of the living room in the Big House. He eyed the five adults in the room, all of whom were staring at Lou Ellen with a look of concern plastered on their faces.
It had been a week since Rachel/the Oracle of Delphi had given Lou Ellen the prophecy, one of which was ominous to say the least. They had immediately gone to Chiron about it and tried to plan their next steps carefully.
The only variable within the prophecy they were sure of was the first line referencing 'The Tournament of Three'. Lou Ellen had immediately connected it to the upcoming 'Triwizard Tournament' hosted by the British magical school Hogwarts. Lou Ellen had said that she overheard her father and the Minister of Magic discussing it during the Quidditch World Cup which took place the night prior to her approaching the Oracle.
Lou Ellen wanted a quest to be assigned and go to Hogwarts, but Chiron and Mr. D. were hesitant to act so quickly.
And that is why Nico finds himself sitting next to Lou Ellen and half-paying attention to a meeting between Chiron, Mr. D., President Blackstone, Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and Ilvermorny Headmistress Alexandra Russo.
"Albus, you have to call off the tournament." Thomas pleaded with the old wizard dragging Nico out of his wondering thoughts.
The old wizard shook his head, "I agree that we should investigate the matter further, but I am afraid postponing the tournament is out of my control. Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman are overseeing the tournament, the Minister has made sure that they have full control of the games." Dumbledore said, his voice sounding heavy and tired.
"I still don't get why I'm here. Sure, the Oracle of Delphi gave a daughter of Hecate a prophecy, what does that have to do with me and Ilvermorny?" Headmistress Russo asked tapping her bright red wand on the side of the chair she was sitting in impatiently. She sat in the plushy green chair with her legs crossed on the cushion, clearly ignoring the typical house-guest etiquette.
Thomas sighed at the younger witch's complaints. "Alex, please can we take this seriously?" Thomas asked the Headmistress.
She rolled her eyes before leaning back in her chair.
Alex Russo was by far the youngest of the group besides the demigods. Only recently placed in charge of the American magic school by the Ilvermorny Board of Governors (IBG). Lou Ellen told Nico the rifts the IBG caused with the MACUSA when they hired her were extensive and still felt nearly two years later. The MACUSA wanted someone from the Magical Congress to fill the spot while the IBG wanted a new fresh face to progress the school into the twenty-first century.
"If Professor Dumbledore is unable to call off the tournament, then I want to lead a quest to Hogwarts and see this prophecy through." Lou Ellen assertively stated, standing up and looking directly at Chiron and Mr. D.
Mr. D. nearly choked on the Coke he was drinking. "You're kidding, right?" Mr. D. asked walking over to Lou Ellen and then turning to face Chiron when he did not say anything. "Chiron, you cannot be seriously be thinking of sending Luna on a quest to Magical Britain, are you?" Mr. D. asked flabbergasted.
"For the love of Zeus, you know that is not my name!" Lou Ellen cried as a crack of thunder rumbled in the distance. "And since when do you care so much?"
Mr. D. quickly turned and pointed a finger Lou Ellen's chest. "Girl, do not tempt me, for so help me, I will turn you into a dolphin and send you to the depths of-"
"Mr. D., please reframe from turning the subject of a prophecy into a sea animal. I don't think the Fates would take kind to such… dramatic actions." Chiron gently said coaxing the god of wine down.
Nico looked over to see Chiron holding Thomas's arm preventing him from intervening with Dionysus.
He sharply looked between Chiron and Lou Ellen before letting out a loud yell in frustration. "Fine! If you want to tempt the Fates by sending another demigod to Europe on a quest, then so be it. But when something terrible happens because you cannot leave well enough alone, don't come crying to me!" Mr. D. shouted before leaving the room grumbling about 'stupid centaurs and idiotic children'.
Once Mr. D. had left Chiron turned back around to face Lou Ellen. "Mr. D. is right in that regard. Mr. di Angelo of all people know just how cruel the Fates can be to demigods who return to the 'old world'. You won't have the protection of the gods if you do choose to go onto this quest." Chiron warned.
Thomas looked like he wanted to interject but Lou Ellen cut him off with a look.
"I want to lead this quest. One of our own could be in serious danger…" Lou Ellen said then turned to Dumbledore, "And if the prophecy does pretail the rise of Voldemort, then I need to be there to stop him before he can hurt anyone else." Lou Ellen said stoically.
"And if she chooses to take this quest, I will do everything in my power to aid in what ways I can." Dumbledore pledged, placing a reassuring hand on Lou Ellen's shoulder.
Lou Ellen turned to Alex Russo, "Which means I'm going to need to transfer to Hogwarts that way I can still graduate on time." Lou Ellen told her Headmistress.
Alex waved her hand in a 'whatever gesture' before perking up. "Oh! I'm going to need your Head of House badge back, since you know… Apparently you have decided to trade up." She added with a good amount of sass.
Lou Ellen bit her lip before pulling out a small red badge out of her pocket. She looked down at the metallic crest before throwing it at the young witch.
"I will send the paperwork by owl Albus. I will see you all, hopefully never." Alex said before waving her wand and disappearing in a sparkly cloud.
"She is a very interesting young woman, now isn't she?" Dumbledore asked earning a scoff from Thomas.
"And you wonder why the MACUSA did not want her instated as Headmaster." Thomas said sarcastically.
"I think she's cool." Lou Ellen added shrugging her shoulders.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Thomas muttered.
Chiron let out a loud cough to get everyone's attention back. "Now that we have Lou Ellen's scholastic situation figured out, how do we want to proceed?"
Dumbledore stood up and clapped his hands together, "Who else will be accompany you Mrs. Blackstone?" The old man asked kindly.
Lou Ellen bit her lower lip before turning to Nico and gave him a small smile. Nico rolled his eyes before sighing, "Sure, why not." He said.
"The prophecy referenced four people, and since the Triwizard Tournament only takes three champions, then it's safe to assume that the prophecy was referencing four demigods." Lou Ellen suggested, not completely sure of herself.
"That seems like a stretch." Nico supplied, Lou Ellen shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm sure Will would want to join since you're going." Lou Ellen added.
"Then our fourth should be Malcolm since he's already acquainted with the magical world." Nico added.
"Or would Cedric be our fourth?" Lou Ellen asked.
Nico scratched his chin trying to come up with an answer, "I don't know, but I think we should bring Malcolm."
"You right, if he ever found out we went on a quest to save Pretty Boy without him…" Lou Ellen laughed before turning back to face Dumbledore, Chiron, and her father. "Nico di Angelo, Will Solace, Malcolm Pace, and myself will be attending Hogwarts this year. Or at least until the prophecy is fulfilled."
Dumbledore nodded approvingly. "I will make sure all the proper paperwork is handled and start coming up with a cover story to tell the staff and students." Dumbledore stated before shaking Chiron and Thomas's hands. "This is where we depart for now. See you in the coming days." Dumbledore cheerfully said before disappearing with a crack.
"This is where I must also depart." Thomas said to Chiron before approaching his daughter. "If you get the chance, Penny and I are planning to get married right before Christmas, and if you are able, I would love for you to be my best man-well erm, best woman." Thomas said as he engulfed his daughter in a hug.
"Yeah, of course. Stay safe dad." She said back before letting go.
"I was going to say the same to you." Thomas said as he approached Nico and held out his hand for him to shake. "It was a pleasure to meet you, son of Hades."
Nico shook it and gave him a polite nod.
And just like Dumbledore, Thomas disappeared with a crack and left the two demigods with Chiron, and Seymour the wall mounted leopard who was asleep above the fireplace.
"I don't think I need to remind you this, but even though you are going into another 'secret world', it is imperative that we keep the Hellenic world separate from the magical. I wouldn't be able to list the number of cataclysmic events that would spawn from widespread knowledge of our world." Chiron warned, leaning towards the two demigods to get his point across.
Nico and Lou Ellen both nodded nervously.
Chiron sighed before leaning back into his wheelchair. "Okay, go make sure Mr. Solace and Pace are willing to go onto this quest and make sure you grab everything you need." Chiron softly said before exiting his wheelchair and trotting down the hall towards his room.
Nico led Lou Ellen out of the Big House and waited on the porch for her.
"So…" Nico said.
"So…" Lou Ellen huffed crossing her arms.
"How are we going about this? There's a lot of technicalities with a quest this complex." Nico muttered looking away towards darkening skies. If Nico had to wager a guess, he would assume Zeus and Hera were having another argument.
Lou Ellen scoffed at his remark. "You don't say?" She muttered sarcastically. "I'm going to go ahead to London and get us a couple of rooms at the Leaky Cauldron-" Lou Ellen held up her finger cutting Nico off before he could ask a question. "-It's a pub and inn near the entrance to magical London. We'll stay at the Cauldron tonight, grab our stuff tomorrow, and then be on the train to Hogwarts."
Nico gave her an impressed look, "You have everything all laid out now don't you?" He said giving her a small smile.
"I like to be prepared." She smirked before whipping out her wand. "Go get Solace and Pace… and make sure they actually want to go, not that they have much of a choice anymore. See you in about twenty" She said before teleporting away like the other wizards had minutes earlier with a crack.
Nico let out a long sigh before walking down the path towards the Apollo Cabin.
Nico opened the door to the cabin and saw Will laying down on his bed, his head deep into a book. He knocked on the door frame gaining the blonde's attention. Will looked up and flashed Nico his signature warm smile.
"Hey Neeks, what's up?" He asked closing his book and sitting up on his bed.
Nico quickly walked over and sat down on the bed across from him. Nico looked over and saw the initials 'TJK' on the bed frame. Nico looked back to Will, who was starting to look slightly concerned.
"This TJ's bunk?" Nico asked trying to buy himself time to figure out how to explain to Will what was going on.
Will looked over at the initials carved into the wooden frame. "I should go warn Sherlock, there's another master detective living among us." Will teased. "Seriously, what's wrong?" Will asked worryingly.
"I might have volunteered you for a quest…" Nico nervously said quickly, flashing his boyfriend a small smile.
Will's smile immediately dropped, and he looked slightly taken aback. "You did what?"
"I told Chiron and a bunch of wizards you would go with me on a quest…"
Will closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "And when were you going to actually ask me about going on this supposed quest?" Will asked grabbing Nico's hand.
"Isn't that what I'm doing now?"
Will shook his head and leaned in to whisper into Nico's ear. "Nope, try again." He murmured.
Nico rolled his eyes, "William Solace, will you accompany me and Lou Ellen on a quest?" Nico asked.
"Lou Ellen and I, but yes. I would be honored." Will said before kissing Nico on his cheek. "So, where are we going?"
Nico bit his lower lip. "Britain." He said softly.
"Oh." Will said slouching his shoulders slightly.
"Lou Ellen thinks that Cedric Diggory's life could be in danger. That's what prompted all of this, including the prophecy." Nico explained.
"Are we bringing Malcolm along?" Will asked. "He and Cedric are pretty close, I'm sure he's going to want to be in on this."
Nico nodded his head, "He was my next stop."
"When are we leaving?" Will asked and stood up to grab a duffle bag out from underneath his bunk.
Nico lightly patted Will's back, "As soon as Lou Ellen gets back. So, in about fifteen minutes give or take." Nico said quickly and walked out of the cabin before Will could respond.
Nico walked across the grass and approached Cabin Six. He stared up at the giant owl statue that sat above the door. He could have sworn the golden painted eyes on the bronze statue followed his movements.
The door opened and Nico quickly looked back at the doorway and was met with by the deadly gaze of Annabeth's grey eyes.
"Hey Nico. What do you need?" She asked opening the door wide enough for him to step inside.
"Is Malcolm here?" He asked looking around the cabin.
The sound of papers rustling around and books falling caught Nico's attention as he saw Malcolm quickly pick up some of the papers he knocked over.
"You rang?" Malcolm asked trying to hide his clumsiness with his 'cool guy' act.
"We've got a quest, go pack." Nico ordered.
"Wait-what?" Annabeth and Malcolm asked at the same time.
"We're going to Hogwarts. Lou Ellen got a prophecy from the Oracle. Figured you probably want to go…" Nico said.
"Ri-right, of course. When are we leaving?" Malcolm asked running over to his drawers and started throwing stuff into a backpack.
Nico pulled up the sleeve on his aviator jacket and checked his watch. "Ten minutes." He quickly walked out of the cabin leaving Annabeth dumbfounded and Malcolm scrambling to gather his belongings.
Nico walked across camp and found Will standing next to Lou Ellen by the Hecate Cabin. She held a small wooden box in her hands and was showing it to Will.
Nico approached the two catching their attention.
"Did you get Malcolm?" Will asked.
Nico nodded his head. "He'll be out in a minute."
Lou Ellen nodded her head, "Good, good. I need to give you guys these." She said gesturing to the box in her hands.
"And those are?" Will asked.
Lou Ellen opened the box and revealed three wooden sticks packed neatly inside, each a dark brown with wooden engravings etched into them.
"We're getting magic wands?" Malcolm yelled racing over to the other three.
"Not exactly." Lou Ellen said handing each of the boys a 'wand'. "They'll enhance your ability to manipulate the Mist." Lou Ellen explained as she handed Nico the last 'wand'.
"And…?" Malcolm asked, looking straight down the barrel of the wand.
Lou Ellen quickly grabbed Malcolm's arm and pulled it away from his face. "For a son of Athena, you're not exactly the brightest." Lou Ellen mumbled.
Malcolm looked like he wanted to say something but didn't.
"It's no more powerful than an illusion. Just think of what you want it to do, and it will give off the illusion that you want. For instance, if you want to levitate something, just imagine it in your head and the Mist will do the rest. Even in the wizarding world, there's enough Mist energy flowing through it to fool most mortals." Lou Ellen explained as she grabbed the wand out of Malcolm's hand to demonstrate. She flicked her wrist and a bright red light shot from the end of it and harmlessly hit the side of a cabin.
"And this goes without saying, but it won't affect anyone who is clearsighted, they'll see right through your little parlor trick." Lou Ellen tacked on before handing Malcolm back his wand.
"How are we getting half-way across the planet?" Will asked.
"We'll take the Floo-network from the Hecate Cabin to the Leaky Cauldron in London. I will hit Diagon Alley either tonight or early in the morning to get all of our supplies, and we'll leave for the train right after." Lou Ellen explained to the group. She pulled out her wand to shrink their luggage before throwing it all into a small purse she was carrying. "Let's do this."
Will Solace yawned as he, Nico, and Malcolm finished up The Lord of the Rings on Malcolm's laptop.
A few hours earlier, Malcolm had knocked on the door to Will and Nico's room in the Leaky Cauldron, wearing his signature red boxers and a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt.
Lou Ellen had gone out on her own to grab their school supplies from 'Diagon Ally'. Lou Ellen had explained it as a street filled with magical shops behind the pub/inn they were staying the night in.
The three boys were all huddled on the bed, Nico and Will sitting up against the bed frame and Malcolm laying across the bottom of the bed eating a Pop-Tart.
"I still don't get the point of the ring." Nico murmured.
Will closed his eyes anticipating the long rant Malcolm would inevitably give.
"What do you mean you don't get the point of the ring?" Malcolm asked in disbelief. "Did you even watch the intro?"
Nico didn't respond to his accusations but just stared at the laptop.
"Hey Jules, can you turn the audio up, I can't hear it over these two." Will asked the Zombie who was holding the laptop at the end of the bed that way they could all see the screen.
Jules-Albert turned his head to Nico looking for his permission. Nico nodded his head approvingly.
"Should we feel bad that we're forcing Jules-Albert to hold the computer and just stand there, or does he have feelings?" Will whispered to Nico.
Nico shrugged his shoulders in response, "It's this or every day, race your best race only to blow it in the end. And repeat the same race, day in and day out in the Fields of Punishment." Nico said aimlessly.
Will went wide-eyed, "Damn, remind me not to get on the list for the Field's of Punishment."
"I guess that should give you incentive not to cheat on me." Nico said smirking up at him.
Will gave him a nervous laugh.
"I'm kidding, jeeze." Nico said, "But not really." He added with another smirk before turning back to the screen.
A loud knock on their door cut surprised the three making them instinctively jump before calming down a second later.
Malcolm quickly yanked his laptop from Jules-Albert's grasp. Nico snapped his fingers dismissing the zombie in a black cloud.
Malcolm quickly walked over to the door and opened it revealing Lou Ellen tapping her foot impatiently.
"Come on, we're going to miss the train!" She ordered gesturing for them to hurry up. Lou Ellen quickly glanced down at Malcolm. "And put some pants on."
"Wait, where's our stuff?" Will yelled after her.
Lou Ellen held up her bag. "We have to go through the No-Maj part of King's Cross to get to the Hogwarts' Express. This way, it will draw less attention to ourselves."
"Obviously." Nico muttered sarcastically.
Malcolm quickly followed Lou Ellen across the hall to their room to get dressed.
Will jumped out of the bed and walked over to gather his things that he had thrown lazily against the wall.
"Do you need me to grab your stuff?" Will asked Nico as he threw the strap of his duffle bag over his arm.
"No, I'm all packed." Nico said pointing to his draw-string backpack hanging on the bedpost.
Will walked over to Nico and grabbed his bag for him, "In that case, let's go and learn some magic." Will said excitedly.
"I can take my own stuff." Nico muttered attempting to take his bag from Will's grasp.
"I know, but I wanna'." Will cried wrapping his arm around Nico leading him to the door.
Nico shrugged out of his grip once Will opened the door.
Will frowned when Nico pulled away.
"What?" Nico asked while adjusting his jacket.
"You know what." Will muttered walking to the end of the hall near the staircase waiting for Lou Ellen and Malcolm.
"I honestly don't know. What's wrong or what did I do?" Nico whispered.
Will sighed, "Every time we so much as open a door, it's like you don't want anything to do with me. It makes me feel like I'm back in the closet and it's frustrating, because I really, really like you. But I need to know… are you embarrassed to be with me?" Will asked taking Nico aback.
Nico quickly shook his head, pushing a strand of hair from his eyes. "Will, no, no… Hades no." Nico said worriedly grabbing Will's hand before darting his eyes across the hall. Most likely to make sure there was no one lingering in the hall.
"It's just, you know where I grew up. It's hard to be someone like me-us. And-you know. Be comfortable." Nico said. "Where I'm from, you and me, would never work, could never work." Nico explained gripping Will's hand tighter.
Will nodded before using his other hand to tilt Nico's head up. "And you need to know that we aren't in some backward thinking Italian town or socially conservative hell hole-" Will started but quickly looked around the hallway. "Well, at least I don't think that this is some sort of socially conservative hell hole, not exactly sure on the politics of the wizarding realm. But what I'm trying to say is, please don't be afraid to be who you are, especially when you're with me. Because I dare, some random asshole to try and start something with us." Will sternly stated squeezing Nico's hand.
"It's just, when I'm from, this wouldn't be possible, and I'm scared that what we have will be taken away from me, from us." Nico whispered.
Will tilted his head back in confusion, "What do you mean, when you're from?" Will asked.
Nico let go of Will's hand and stepped back. "Noth-nothing. What are you talking about?" Nico asked trying to deflect Will's question.
"Nico, please don't play this game with me, please just trust me." Will pleaded flashing Nico a small reassuring smile.
"I do trust you, it's just…" Nico trailed off looking down to his feet. "I'm originally from the Nineteen-thirties-" Will held up his hand trying to get Nico to stop but he ignored him and kept talking. "-After Zeus killed our mother, Hades had Alecto send us to the Lotus Hotel and Casino, and we were there for like seventy years before we were shipped off to that boarding school in Maine. And that's when Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia found me." Nico explained quietly, not daring to look up at Will.
Nico opened his mouth to try and break the silence, but he was interrupted by Will pulling him into backbreaking hug.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you. Herakles, I can't even imagine going through something like that." Will whispered soothingly into Nico's ear.
"You're not weirded out by all of that?" Nico asked.
Will shrugged his shoulders, "Honestly, this isn't that weird compared to half the stuff we've done."
Nico cracked a smirk as he pulled away from Will.
"There you two are. Hades, we're going to miss the train." Lou Ellen cursed as she and Malcolm quickly walked down the hallway. Nico and Will just watched as they descended the flight of stairs towards the pub.
"Are you two love birds coming or what?" Lou Ellen yelled. Nico and Will quickly followed her down the stairs.
'Here we go.' Will thought to himself.
Will stared at the brick wall in confusion along with Malcolm and Nico.
"You want us-"
"To run through-"
"A brick wall?"
The three boys asked the witch.
The four demigods stood on the platform between Nine and Ten, trying to blend in, as mortals rushed past them with their heads buried into their cell phones.
Lou Ellen rolled her eyes at the boys as she turned to run through the brick column. She vanished as soon as she hit the brick wall leaving the boys gapping.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Malcolm called out and casually walked through the barrier, disappearing just like Lou Ellen.
Will looked over Nico who nodded and linked his arm with Nico's and they both followed Malcolm through the brick wall. Will closed his eyes as they passed through the barrier, knowing that he was not going to pull a Jason and knock himself on the bricks, but he couldn't help himself from flinching. He opened his eyes just as he and Nico nearly ran into the back of Malcolm who was staring, leaving his mouth hanging at the large red locomotive train on the tracks.
A red sign hung on the side of the wall with 9¾ written in bold black font.
"Welcome to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters." Lou Ellen proclaimed. "You boys go find us all a seat, I'm going to drop all of our luggage off." Lou Ellen ordered, pointing to her purse.
Malcolm nodded and led Nico and Will on board. The carriage cars were all separated into compartments, with two benches facing one another. Each compartment looked like it could seat six comfortably.
They looked for an empty compartment but nearly all the compartments the trio had come across already had a one or two people in them.
So far only a couple of the other students had given them quick glances of confusion. Clearly not recognizing the three.
"Here's an empty one!" Malcolm called out and flung open the sliding door revealing the empty compartment.
Malcolm slid into one of the benches. While Nico and Will sat down in the one across from him.
"Oh, I was supposed to give you these earlier." Malcolm said handing Nico and Will two tickets that read 'London to Hogwarts: One Way'.
Both boys pocketed the tickets and tried to adjust themselves on the bench. Nico scooted over to lean up against the window and pulled his knees up in front of him so that he was sitting up completely on the bench.
"So much for our mannerisms." Will teased looking at Nico as he groaned.
"We're the only ones in here. And plus, my shoes are clean." Nico whined picking up his foot to prove his point.
Lou Ellen barged into the compartment before Will could respond. The daughter of Hecate looked extremely flushed and annoyed.
"What happened?" Malcolm asked as she sat down next to him.
"Nothing." She muttered as she cracked her knuckles making Nico flinch at the sound.
"Gods that sound is annoying." Nico murmured only loud enough the Will could make out what he said.
Lou Ellen closed her eyes and sighed dramatically, "I ran into Malfoy and Malfoy Junior when I was boarding. Sorry, it's just Lucius really pisses me off, and his son is a needy brat who won't ever shut up. Lucius was trying to suck up to me, and I had to come up with some lame-ass excuse to get out of there." She ranted balling her fists up as she continued to vent.
"That was the blondie that was with you at the World Cup right?" Malcolm asked.
"Yup." Lou Ellen said, "Honestly, he wasn't completely intolerable when it was just the two of us, but when he's with his dad, or really anyone else. He can be a complete asshole."
Malcolm shook his head and peered out of the window tapping his foot impatiently. "Can this thing hurry up and go!"
"Patience isn't really your strong suit is it?" Nico asked blandly, turning his head to face the son of Athena.
"I know you are not talking." Malcolm retorted.
Nico shrugged his shoulders, "You tend to learn something or two about patience when you're trapped inside a tiny bronze jar for days on end." Nico nonchalantly stated before turning his head back to face Will.
Will placed a hand on Nico's ankle and gave him a reassuring smile.
A knock on the compartment door drew everyone's attention. A red headed girl was standing there with a nervous smile on her face and a tall lanky dark-haired boy stood behind her holding a potted plant, also looking nervous.
"Hi, you mind if we sit, everywhere else is full." The girl asked before staring at Malcolm for a second. "Wait. Malcolm?"
"Ginny, right?" Malcolm asked.
"What are you doing here, I thought you attended Ilvermorny?" She asked. "Now to think of it, I don't recognize any of you." Ginny said.
Lou Ellen flashed the red head a smile and stood up. "Hi, I'm Lou Ellen, and these are Will, Nico, and I guess you already know Malcolm." She introduced quickly glancing in confusion at Malcolm when she said his name. "We're exchange students for the year from Ilvermorny."
"Oh, didn't know we were doing that, but it's nice to meet you guys." Ginny said with a giant smile across her face and she shook Lou Ellen's hand. "So, do you mind if Neville and I sit?" She asked just as the carriage jerked forward and the station started to zip past the window.
"Oh! Right. Of course not." Lou Ellen said turning around where she was just facing the three boys and closed her eyes in annoyance before sitting back down next to Malcolm. Will patted Nico's legs to gesture for him to put them on the floor that way he could scoot over and let Neville sit down.
"So, how do you and Malcolm know one another?" Lou Ellen asked.
"We met at the World Cup. He and the Diggory's portkeyed with us." Ginny said.
Lou Ellen nodded, "And you're Neville?" She asked the boy who was nervously looking down at his plant.
"Yuh-yeah. Neville Longbottom. I'm a Fourth Year in Gryffindor." He stuttered.
"That's cool, I'm going into my Seventh Year, Malcolm into his Sixth, and Nico and Will are going into their Fourth Year. We were all also in Thunderbird House at Ilvermorny." Lou Ellen explained effortlessly. Already working their cover stories, which she had completely come up with all on her own. "How about you Ginny?"
"Oh, I'm also in Gryffindor, but I'm in my Third Year." Ginny said before staring at Lou Ellen for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to be Lou Ellen Blackstone, would you?" Ginny asked.
Lou Ellen flinched, "Yes…"
"Oh my God! I've followed your Quidditch career for a few years now. I thought you looked familiar, but I've only seen pictures of you in full gear. You're the first female seeker to catch a snitch at the U-Seventeen World Cup!" Ginny excitedly exclaimed.
"Oh, I didn't take you for a huge Quidditch person." Lou Ellen said turning to completely face Ginny.
Nico leaned in to whisper in Will's ear, "What is happening? I'm confused."
Will shrugged his shoulders, "You and me both, I'm just going with the flow." He whispered back.
Will yawned before leaning his head down on Nico's shoulder. "I'm going to catch some Z's, hope you don't mind." Will said with another yawn and closed his eyes. He felt Nico give him a small pat on the leg before he slowly drifted off.
Cedric Diggory sat at his house table next to Ernie Macmillan and Zacharias Smith, patiently waiting for the First Years to enter the Great Hall. Although he and Ernie did not talk much, Zacharias was best friends with Ernie and because of that wherever Zacharias was, Ernie was not too far behind.
"Any word on what's going on this year? Mum's been keeping it a secret from me." Ernie asked, tapping his butter knife on the table impatiently. "Cedric?" Zacharias asked when Cedric did not acknowledge him.
"Hm, what?" Cedric asked suddenly, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Something going on?" Zacharias asked.
"No, not really, I was just thinking about something." Cedric said turning his attention completely to the younger Hufflepuff.
"About…?"
"It's nothing, I just thought I saw someone I know back at the train station in Hogsmeade. But that would be impossible because she goes to Ilvermorny." Cedric said, internally fearing that he was either hallucinating or that the daughter of Hecate was at Hogwarts.
"Well, alright then." Zacharias said turning his head to look at the sound of the giant wooden doors opening revealing Professor McGonagall leading the first years into the Great Hall… With four older teens trailing them.
Cedric had to rub his eyes to make sure he was not seeing things.
"What do you reckon that's about?" Ernie whispered leaning in closer to Cedric that way he could see the new arrivals through the gaps between the students sitting at the Gryffindor table next to theirs.
"Nothing good I bet." Cedric whispered, not realizing he had said it out loud. But Ernie and Zacharias were to busy trying to get a good look at the four newcomers.
Cedric instantly saw Will and Lou Ellen, both towering over everyone else. He spotted Nico standing on the other side of Will, and his eyes finally landed on Malcolm, blocked by Lou Ellen and the crowd of Gryffindors sitting in front of him. Cedric wasn't sure if he should be happy to see the son of Athena or pissed that he did not inform him of this little… adventure they were on.
Professor Dumbledore quickly walked to the podium and gestured for everyone to be silent.
"Good evening students!" The Headmaster began, drawing everyone's attention. "Now, I know that we typically start with the Sorting Ceremony, but things this year are going to be a little different." Dumbledore said, his gaze falling onto nearly every student as he spoke.
"First and foremost, I would like to welcome everyone back, and to our newcomers, welcome to your first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For those of you who do not know me, I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. Like I said before, this year will be quite different and unique compared to the previous years. I would first like to welcome four students who will be joining us this term from the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Massachusetts. They will be attending classes just as they would be back at their home school. I hope you all will give them a warm Hogwarts welcome."
'Malcolm, what in the Hades have you gotten yourself into?' Cedric thought to himself as Dumbledore continued to go through the usual announcements, and the staff replacements.
"And finally, this year, I regret to inform you all, there will be no Quidditch matches-"
Cedric, along with nearly every other student in the hall erupted into chaos and 'boos' at the sudden announcement. Cedric could hear the Weasley twins yelling over everyone else in anger. Shouting some not so… pleasant analogies at the Headmaster.
Dumbledore raised his wand to his throat to amplify his voice. "Silence!" He shouted quieting the hall.
"As I was saying, this year, there will be no Quidditch, but we have replaced it with-"
Dumbledore gestured towards the doors to the Great Hall and Argus Filch pulled in a large object, covered by a blue cloth, up to the dais Dumbledore was standing on.
"The Triwizard Tournament!" And with a flick of his wand the cloth shot up and disappeared revealing a large silver and blue cup with the words 'Triwizard' etched into the crystal.
Another round of murmurs echoed throughout the hall. Cedric sat there in silence, trying to process the information.
"Mr. Bagman and Crouch, who are representing the Ministry and who are in complete control of the Tournament will go into further rules and details after the feast. But for now, Professor McGonagall, I believe we have some eager First Years and American guests who wish to know which House they will be in." Dumbledore said gesturing to the Deputy Headmistress.
McGonagall nodded and pulled out a large scroll and removed the Sorting Hat from the stool it was sitting on.
McGonagall sorted the First Years, first, but Cedric was too busy staring at the demigods to process who was sorted into which house, he only clapped whenever he heard everyone else do the same.
"Blackstone, Lou Ellen!" McGonagall yelled and Lou Ellen effortlessly walked up to the stool and sat down. The hat was only on her head for a few seconds before it yelled "Slytherin!"
Everyone respectfully clapped while the Slytherin table started freaking out that the daughter of the President of the MACUSA was sorted into their house.
"Di Angelo, Nico!" McGonagall called silencing everyone as they stared at the youngest of the group. He nervously walked up the steps, nearly tripping in his robe as he ascended.
"Five Sickles say he's Slytherin." Cedric heard Ernie whisper to Zacharias.
"I'll take that bet." Zacharias replied back.
Cedric snorted. "A Galleon says he goes to Gryffindor." He muttered catching Ernie off guard.
"Alright big man, you're on." Ernie replied right as the Sorting Hat shouted, "Gryffindor."
Everyone in the Hall politely clapped, except the Gryffindors who were cheering, rightfully so, louder than everyone else.
"Pace, Malcolm!" McGonagall called and Malcolm adjusted his glasses before making the climb up to the Sorting Hat.
'I swear to Olympus, if you are in Ra-'
"Ravenclaw!" The hat shouted seconds after being placed on the blonde's head.
Cedric clapped louder than he probably should have, drawing Ernie, Zacharias's, and a couple of the other Hufflepuff's attention.
"What?" Cedric asked, trying to play it off.
"Me thinks this one might be pinning after the toned blonde from America." Zacharias teased.
"I think you might be onto something Zach." Ernie added.
"Ah come off it." Cedric muttered, missing the fact that Will had been called up to the hat.
"Hufflepuff!" The hat called and the table stood up in cheers as Will made his way over to the table.
"Ernie, move over." Cedric ordered as he waved for Will to come over to him.
"What, why?" Ernie asked confused.
"Just do it." Cedric ordered and Ernie begrudgingly pushed Hannah Abbot over that way Will could sit next to Cedric.
"You two know each other?" Zacharias asked as Will nervously sat down.
"Yeah, we attended the same Quidditch camp over the summer. That's why I was staring at them. Because I knew them. I told you I thought I recognized one of them earlier." Cedric said trying to quickly come up with a cover story on the fly. Zacharias must have bought it because he dropped his questioning.
Cedric quickly turned to face Will, "What the fuck are you doing here?" He whispered to the son of Apollo.
Will held up his hand in slight surprise. "Well, hello to you too."
"Sorry, but seriously, why are you guys here, what's going on?" Cedric asked, masking his intense questioning by sipping on his pumpkin juice.
Will picked up his goblet, "Lou Ellen received a prophecy from the Oracle, and it referenced the Triwizard Tournament. Lou Ellen and Chiron pulled some strings with the Gandalf wannabe up there and her Headmistress and here we are. Lou Ellen even gave us these cool fake wands that manipulate the Mist to make it look like we are actually doing magic." Will said quietly flashing Cedric his wand before putting it back into his robe.
"Well then, Lou Ellen really thought of everything." Cedric muttered.
Will laughed as he started sipping on his drink and immediately spat it out. "Ewww, what is this?"
Cedric chuckled, "Pumpkin juice."
Will turned to him with a slight look of horror on his face. "That is genuinely the grossest thing I have ever heard of in my life."
"You guys don't have pumpkin juice back in America?" Ernie asked Will.
"Can't say that we do." Will replied before digging into his food.
Zacharias and Ernie both laughed at his answer while Cedric looked over his shoulder across the hall looking for Malcolm. He was still sitting in the same spot eating his food while conversating with a couple of the new First Years. Malcolm looked up, almost as if he could feel Cedric's gaze on him.
Malcolm smiled at him and gave him a small wave. Cedric returned the gesture. Zacharias tugged on his robe, "What?" Cedric snapped.
Zacharias held his hands up defensively. "Woah, bite my head off why don't you?"
"Sorry, I was just in the middle of-Doesn't matter, what did you need?" Cedric asked.
"Oh, um… I forget." Zacharias smirked nervously.
Cedric rolled his eyes and went back to eating his food.
Barty Crouch approached the dais as everyone continued to eat and started to ramble off some of the other details about the Triwizard tournament. The hall erupted into 'boos' and complaints when Crouch announced that only wizards and witches of age could place their name into the Goblet of Fire.
"Are you going to put your name in?" Will asked.
Cedric shrugged his shoulders, "I don't see why not."
Will sighed, "Just, talk to Lou Ellen before you do it. Something has her triggered about all of this, and she won't say what." Will muttered while peeling off a piece of his roll and scarfing it down.
Cedric nodded and turned back to the dais when Dumbledore reproached the podium.
"Thank you, Mr. Crouch. Now, as this is the 'Triwizard' Tournament, we will be joined by two other magical schools this year. The Durmstrang Institute located in the far north of Europe, and the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic from France. Both schools will be joining us in October and will have the opportunity to place their names into the Goblet of Fire. The champions will be selected on the evening of Halloween." Dumbledore explained glancing around the room. "And with that, Prefects, please lead your Houses back to your dormitories!" Dumbledore concluded clapping his hands together cheerfully.
"Well. Here we go." Will stated.
"Yep-" Cedric agreed glancing back to Malcolm. "Here we go."
A/N: Please review/favorite/follow.
May the Force be with you and stay safe and healthy through these...interesting times.